10 Things I Had To Tell You
by crystallica81
Summary: Chel and Aladdin are street rats and thieves. Chel stole the golden cup from the gods' temple, but Tulio let her go because in his heart, he loves her. Aladdin is arrested and sent to jail, but Princess Jasmine likes him and makes him a guard. Chel becomes a maid when Tzekel-Kan fires her, and each night Aladdin writes 10 things he wants to tell her-but never did.


10 Things I Had To Tell You

_One  
The Cup_

Chel stood frozen.

Her chocolate brown eyes darted from left to right quickly. She stuck out her bottom lip and watched the New Gods dance around delightedly in their temple. They had just arrived, and Tzekel-Kan had called them Lord Miguel and Lord Tulio. Lord Miguel's hair was the color of corn, and Lord Tulio was the handsome one, with the blue shirt and curly black hair.

Chel took a deep breath and waited for the gods to leave.

"This is our biggest con yet, Tulio!" Miguel shouted. "With all this money—"

"Shhh," hissed Tulio. "Do you want the natives to _hear_?"  
"Sorry," Miguel whispered. "With all this money, we can be richer than Cortez! Richer than kings! Hell, we'll be the richest men in Spain!"

"No," Tulio began to chuckle. "We can take back the money and _buy _Spain!"  
"We've done it now, partner!" Miguel laughed, and slapped high fives with Tulio. The two gods ducked out of their temple, headed outside for a breather.

Chel took a deep breath. _For surviving on the cruel streets of Agrabah, _she thought with a grimace. _I need to do this. For me. For Aladdin. To keep us going_.

She took a deep breath and then raced forward. Her feet went pounding across the stone floor. She grabbed the golden cup Tzekel-Kan had given as a gift to the two lords. They won't even notice it's gone, thought Chel hastily. She was headed for the exit when Tulio ducked back inside. He gasped.

Chel shoved the cup behind her back. She smiled politely at him. "Hello. I was just…the maid! Cleaning out the cup for you. I'll bring it right back, it has to be purified."  
"Hola…." Lord Tulio said curiously. "Oh, _usted no sabe espanol, verdad?_ You don't know Spanish, do you? Here, I'll switch to English."

Really, Chel's root language was Arabian, but there were many tongues and she didn't wish to talk in all of them.

But she _had _expected a great lord to know more than just Spanish and English.

Chel smiled at Tulio softly. _Please just let me go_.

Tulio smiled back. "Chel, right?"  
"Yes, Lord Tulio."  
Tulio laughed quietly under his breath. "Please. Call me Tulio."  
Chel nodded, noticing how handsome he was, seeing the layer of fine stubble across his jawline, and how the ponytail curled in a nice, manly way. She saw how muscular his forearms was.

Stop it, Chel, she urged herself. He's a _god_. And you're nothing but a street rat and a thief.

Tulio nodded. "Well, go ahead and clean it, then." He stepped aside, clearing his throat.

Chel bowed respectfully and stepped forward, heading for the stairs. A few more minutes into the sunset and she'd be in Agrabah by dark.

"And Chel?"  
Chel whirled around, hair flying, clutching the beloved golden cup to her substantial chest. "Yes, L—Tulio?"  
Tulio grinned. "Don't let Tzekel-Kan catch you with that. He doesn't take kindly to thieves."  
Chel held it tight to her chest. "I'm so sorry, Tulio! You won't tell him, will you?"  
Tulio's eyes were kind. "It's alright. It's clear you need it more than I do. Take it. Sell it. Do what you want with it."  
Chel smiled. "You are a great lord. I am honored to be your subject."  
Tulio smiled back, awkwardly. "Thank you, Chel."

The smile lingered for a long time on his face, even after Chel had expertly slunk away out of the city and deep into the puzzling network of streets.

"I brought it!"

Chel's voice was breathless as she climbed up the narrow stairs into the crumbling stone hideaway.

Aladdin turned. He was sitting on their windowsill, staring at the palace, stroking Abu, his pet monkey, absentmindedly. But when he saw Chel, he brightened and jumped up.

He grinned, grabbing her shoulder. "Nobody saw you?"  
Chel's smile faded a bit, then brought it back up. _Thieves lie. _"No, no one at all!"

"That's amazing!" Aladdin exclaimed. "You're a much better thief than I am!" Abu chittered his agreement.

Chel giggled and held out the shining trophy. Aladdin reached for it, rubbing off a smudge with the edge of his vest. He stared at his reflection back in the glittering cup. He shook his head. "Damn, this is gold if I ever saw it. What do you think we should do with it?"  
Chel's stomach grumbled. She grabbed it. "Do you think you could sell it, get some money, and buy us some dinner? I'm starving."  
Aladdin nodded, looking out at the dark city. "I suppose. Sure. Why not?" 

"Dinner is served!" Aladdin announced with gusto. Chel smiled, looking down at the grand feast. Aladdin had bought a roast chicken, with plenty of Arabian veggies and fish. Chel stared at it. "You don't waste _all _the money, did you?"  
"Don't be stupid," Aladdin growled playfully. "Of course not! The rest of the money is in my pillowcase."  
"I hope you're planning to share," Chel told him. "I'm in desperate need of new clothing." She gestured down at her faded shirt and loincloth.

Aladdin nodded. "Yeah. You practically did all the work, so yeah."  
They sat down together and dug into their feast.  
Chel was gobbling chicken like there was no tomorrow. "We haven't eaten like this in forever," she whispered. "In fact, we haven't _eaten _in six days. This is the first meal we've had in that long."  
Aladdin looking down at the food. "We have to save some for tomorrow. I don't want to throw away all our prize money in a day."  
"Of course not," said Chel.

As Aladdin put away the remnants of the meal, Chel laid down on her crude little bed. She sighed, looking at the palace. "Another day, another thing to steal."  
"Thieves," Aladdin sighed. "We have a free life, but a hard life."  
Chel looked at him. "Well, it's never easy, is it? There's always a price to pay for everything."

_Two_

_Gone_

Chel went back to her job in El Dorado, the temple of the gods. She was scrubbing the floor, in the temple, when Miguel and Tulio entered, both bickering heatedly in Spanish. Lord Miguel gestured to the mantel where the golden cup sat, and threw his arms in the air. He pointed at her, and Tulio shook his head.

"_Por que tomaste la copa?" _Miguel shouted at her. "_Fue un regalo de Tzekel-Kan_!"  
Tulio intercepted Miguel. "She doesn't understand Spanish," he scolded. "Stop yelling at her!" He turned to Chel. "He said, why did you take the cup? It was a gift from Tzekel-Kan."

"A maid?" Miguel exclaimed. "Ha. She probably stole it. Half the maids here are thieves."  
"_Miguel_!" reprimanded Tulio. "Where is your sense of dignity? We're gods, amigo!"  
Miguel glared at Chel for a momen and then sighed. "Fine. You said it was to purified?" he asked Chel.

Chel looked at Tulio, then had an idea. "I gave it…" she whimpered timidly.

"Gave it where?"  
"Gave it…."  
Miguel was just about done. "Where?" he cried in exasperation.

"To _Shih-balba."_

Miguel was beside himself. "You gave it to the underworld?"

"Afraid so," whispered Chel. "You'll have to forgive me, Lord Miguel."  
Miguel just shook his head and left the temple. Tulio chuckled. "You'll have to let that one slide, Chel," said Tulio. "I'm afraid he was very harsh with you."  
Chel bowed her head to her work. "I apologize again for taking it. I'm just so desperate. No food, no money. It's hard to survive. The streets are cruel, my lord."  
Tulio looked sternly at her. "Chel, I told you, call me _Tulio_." Then he softened. "Perhaps I could start paying you for your cleaning services."  
Chel blushed furiously. "No, please, that's not required. Tzekel-Kan will be very angry. Please don't."  
Tulio cocked his head. "If you wish it," he said doubtfully.

"You and Tulio are good friends," Chel observed, speaking out of turn again.

Tulio sat down and began to count gold coins. "_Si_."

"You came from a faraway place together to fulfill our prophecy, no?"  
Tulio nodded at her. "_Si_. Tulio is my closest friend, my _companero_."

Chel looked at him, confused.

Tulio smiled. "My partner, my companion."  
Chel nodded, and got back to work. She kept thinking of how Tulio was so close to her. Did gods ever get this close to servant girls?

The afternoon drew closer, and Miguel was still out.

"What does Lord Miguel do all day?" Chel wanted to know. What were the gods' favorite pastimes? All Tulio had done was have a conversation with Tzekel-Kan, the high priest, count coins, and take long leisurely naps.

Tulio looked up, surprised, for his comfortable sofa. "Miguel? Plays ball with the kids. Flirts with the women. Goes to bars and drinks."  
Chel frowned. "That is not how gods are."  
Seeing Tulio's face, she bit her lip. "Forgive me."  
Tulio grimaced. "It's alright. Miguel is a _special _kind of god. I'm not even sure what kind."  
Chel grinned. "He's kind to the subjects. A favorable god."  
Tulio nodded. "I suppose. But gods are supposed to be….more…._godlike_, isn't it?"  
With a finger to her chin, Chel shrugged. "Yes, but a good ruler isn't afraid to get their hands dirty. Get down and talk to the subjects. Love the children. Give money. Give gifts. Make them like you."  
Tulio shrugged. "I guess."  
Chel rose up, looking at the dusky pink sky. "I will be back tomorrow, of course. But for today, my work is done. I must be going, or I won't get home in time." She was anticipating the roast chicken leftover dinner from yesterday, and licked her lips.

Tulio let the coins fall to the ground. "Got a boyfriend waiting for you?"

Chel turned, surprised. "No."  
Tulio nodded. "Ah."  
She started for the stairs, parting the curtains smoothly. "Goodnight, Tulio." She turned and he was right behind her.

She stared at him. His dark blue eyes were like the brightest stars, so mesmerizing she couldn't take her eyes away. Tulio bent his face close and kissed her lips ever so gently it was like butterflies brushing against them.

Chel blinked. "Gods aren't supposed to kiss servant girls," she babbled. "We must have no relationship, Lord Tulio. If Tzekel-Kan finds out….if Lord Miguel finds out…."  
"No one will know," soothed Tulio. He leaned down and kissed her so softly again she could barely feel it.

"See?" he asked her. "Sometimes gods _do _kiss servant girls."  
And Chel found herself smiling.


End file.
